


this universe was made to be seen by our eyes

by lvecean



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Canon-Typical Violence, Childhood Friends, Established Relationship, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Holding Hands, Kiki's delivery service - Freeform, Klance AU Month 2021, Love Confessions, M/M, Pirate Keith (Voltron), Pirate Lance (Voltron), Pirates, Witch Keith (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:20:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29140668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lvecean/pseuds/lvecean
Summary: Klance AU Month 2021day 1: "movie": a Kiki's delivery service au, in which witch keith is accompanied on a delivery by his friend lanceday 3: "celebrity": actors Lance McClain and Keith Kogane are both in need of a date for a big eventday 6: "pirate": captains McClain and Kogane fight for what is theirs
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron), Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 36
Kudos: 125





	1. day 1: movie

**Author's Note:**

> happy au month ;)
> 
> very proud to have completed the first prompt and the second one too!! though you'll have to wait to read it, i'm afraid. i am going to try to complete as much prompts as possible, so bear with me. 
> 
> for the prompt "movie" i chose kiki's delivery service, inspired by [this artwork](https://twitter.com/bijouoffline/status/1324368000242249728?s=20) by the lovely [bijou](https://twitter.com/bijouoffline), please show her some love <3
> 
> i'm following [this prompt list](https://twitter.com/monthlyklance/status/1350571234501693440?s=20) <3

The sun was just setting over Koriko, her rays caressing the roofs of the houses and the faces of all who were brave enough to challenge the early hour. One of these people was Keith Kogane. He’d always considered himself to be a morning person, but five a.m. was a little enthusiastic, even for him. 

No matter how he felt about it, his next client had asked him to deliver her package before ten a.m. and with a four hour flight in front of him, he’d seen no option but to wake at five. 

Ever since opening his business— _Keith’s delivery service_ , he’d called it. Because his name was Keith and he delivered stuff. Pretty straight-forward—his reputation as a morning person had really been put to a test.

“You’ve got everything you need, kid?” Shiro leaned against the doorway, apron already tied around his waist and flour dusting his right cheek. 

Keith looked up, hands still tangled in the rope he’d attempted to use to wrap his package around the back of his broom. He huffed his bangs out of his face. “Yes.” 

“Do I need to ask Adam to prepare you some more food?” 

“Shiro,” Keith rolled his eyes. “He made me four sandwiches already, I won’t even eat that much.” 

“Does Keith need more food?” Adam emerged from inside the house, a paper bag with steam rolling from the top of it held out in front of it. 

“No, he doesn’t,” Keith said.

“Yes, he does,” Shiro spoke at the same time. 

Adam ignored Keith and stuffed the paper bag underneath the ropes Keith had been tying, somehow 100% more efficient than Keith had been during the ten minutes he’d been struggling with it. 

Keith rolled his eyes at Adam’s uncalled-for paternal affection and gave him a little nudge to inspect Adam’s tie work. After a lot of squinting and gently pulling at the strings, he unfortunately had to conclude that Adam had done a terrific job.

“I’m gonna go,” Keith said, patting his broom. “Have you guys seen Kosmo?” 

“Hm,” Adam hummed. “He was asleep in the kitchen.”

Keith murmured something but set out to find his talking companion. “Kosmo, come one we have to go.” 

A low, animalistic huff came from the kitchen. And just like Adam has said, the big dog was spread out in front of the ovens, like a living rug of dark blue fur. 

“I’m sleepy,” the dog sighed as he stretched out his legs lazily. “Five more minutes.”

Keith rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, making the hem of the big shirt he was wearing rise up on his thigh a little. “We can sleep when we get back,” he said, nudging the dog’s butt with the tip of his boot. “Come _on_.” 

With one final deep, dissatisfied huff, Kosmo rose to his feet. Taking all the time in the world to stretch out his legs. He throdded out of the kitchens without a single word to Keith. 

The little witch rolled his eyes but adjusted the red ribbon that kept his hair out of his face and followed after his large companion. 

Once outside, three voices greeted him, instead of two. Realization dawned on Keith as he heard the youthful tones of a voice that could impossibly belong to the two old men that called themselves his dads. 

His greatest fears became reality when his eyes caught the red-striped monstrosity of a shirt that only one kid was insane enough wear. 

“Lance,” he growled, stalking down to where he’d so meticulously packed everything on his broom. “What are you doing here?”

Whatever conversation the three had had before he’d interrupted, fell silent. Adam and Shiro kept quiet as the two boys stared at each other, amused smiles on their faces. 

Lance, for his part, completely disregarded Keith's question and replied with one of his own, “You’re doing a delivery today, right?” 

Keith looked down at his loaded broomstick and raised a meaningful eyebrow as he looked back at Lance. “Obviously,” was all he said. 

Immediately, Lance perked up. “Great!” he said. “Can I come?” 

Keith’s arms fell limply to his sides as he gawked at Lance. “Wha- Excuse me?” 

“Can I come?” Lance repeated. “I want to see the zeppelins from up close, and I’ll even help you with your delivery.” 

Keith was about to tell Lance that he would hardly be of any help flying a broomstick, but swallowed the comment down as Shiro kicked his leg. “Uhh,” he stammered, face flushing. “I guess? If you want, yeah. You can come.”

“Awesome!” Lance’s glasses slid down a bit at his excited jump. “When do we leave?”

“Now,” Keith grumbled, roughly picking the heavy broom up.

A big hand curled around his shoulder. “Keith,” Shiro said, “play nice.” 

Keith scowled. “I’m not a _kid_.”

“You sure act like one.” 

But Shiro didn’t know about the annoying tingling that spread all over his body whenever he saw Lance. He didn’t see the red flush spread high on Keith’s cheeks whenever Lance smiled that big smile of his. He didn’t feel Keith’s clammy hands that made it difficult to keep ahold of his broom when Lance called him from across the street.

So really, who was Shiro to judge?

It took Keith a few tries to get them up in the air—levitating himself and Kosmo still proved to be a challenge at times, and the added weight of Lance did nothing to help this—so once they were in the air, he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Where exactly are we going?” Lance’s voice sounded right in his ears.

Suddenly, Keith was all too aware of the arms wrapped loosely around his waist and the warmth of another human’s breathing chest against his back. The broom dropped a good half meter and Lance yelped and tightened his hold on Keith’s waist.

“Sorry!” Keith yelped. “Sorry. I’ve got it under control.” He swallowed, it took him a moment to realize he still had to answer Lance’s question. “Uhh. We’re going to a small town four hours from here. The lady asked me to deliver the anniversary cake she ordered for her wife before 10 a.m.”

“Does that happen a lot?” Lance asked.

Keith shrugged and turned his head a little so his reply wouldn’t be lost in the wind.

From there, conversation flowed freely between the two of them. Keith found himself laughing at all of Lance’s jokes, and when the two of them encountered their first zeppelin of the day, he flew an extra circle around the big aircraft so Lance could get a better look at it. 

He even asked follow-up questions when Lance told him a fact about the zeppelin, he thought Shiro and Adam would be proud of him. 

Kosmo was sound asleep on the back of the broom, head resting on the package and butt squished against Lance, when Keith carefully landed next to the house of their delivery. He was glad the big dog was asleep, and thus unable to provide teasing commentary that he knew only Keith could hear.

Keith unwrapped the package and gently knocked on the door. It swung open and a lady appeared. She accepted the package and handed Keith his money—and then some. She offered to take him and his friend in to let them eat something, but he replied a polite “No thank you, ma’am.” She promised to recommend his delivery service to all her friends in the area, but Keith silently hoped she wouldn’t as he was afraid of more early mornings if all his clients lived this far away. 

Ten minutes later found the three of then sprawled out in a field. The grass tickling their bare legs as they recovered from their trip. 

Lance’s stomach growled. “Oops.” He grinned guiltily.

Keith crawled over to his broom and grabbed the elaborate lunchbox Adam had filled with pastries usually reserved for their bakery. It only now dawned on him that Adam had strategically packed two of everything—two ham sandwiches, two containers of apple juice, two eclairs. 

They ate in silence, the only noise being the music playing from Keith’s little red radio. 

Keith was happily munching his eclair, legs stretched out in front of him, swinging his feet back and forth to hear the little _swish swoosh_ noise his boots made in the grass, when Lance broke the silence.

“I like you,” he said. Just like that.

Keith’s eyes blew wide and he whipped his head around. “What?” he stammered. His hands dropped to his lap. 

Lance swallowed, his cheeks were red and it was clear that he was embarrassed. “I, uhh. I like you.” He looked up at Keith, glasses slid low on his nose. “Like-like you.” To clarify.

“Oh,” Keith said, looking down at his lap.

Lance cleared his throat. “Yeah,” he said. And then, “Do you?”

Keith turned his head to look at him again. “Do I what?”

He could hear Kosmo’s unbelieving huff, but chose to ignore the dog.

“Do you like me too?”

Keith looked down from the eclair in his lap to Lance’s nervous face. It was a very un-Lancelike expression. “I… I think so,” said Keith.

“You think so?” 

Keith shook his head, putting his pastry back on top of the wrapper as his head cleared a little. “No,” he said. “I _know_ so.” 

Tension seemed to escape Lance all at once. “Really?” 

Keith nodded. “Yes.”

Lance nodded back. “Great.” Then he did something Keith had not seen coming. He held out his hand and asked, “Wanna hold hands?” 

Keith looked up at him with big eyes. He warily regarded the offered hand, but swallowed and shakily reached out with his own. “I suppose,” he said, slipping his fingers between Lance’s.

Lance’s hand was warm and comfortable. He squeezed once comfortingly, Keith squeezed back and smiled at him. The other boy smiled back. 

Picking up his own eclair, Lance sighed and looked back out over the field. The two boys sat, in the middle of a flowering field, enjoying their pastries and the sweet tones of music as they held hands. 

Keith thought he could get used to this. Running deliveries with his best friend, holding hands with his best friend. All of it.


	2. day three: celebrity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Finally,” Lance muttered as he got up to leave the limousine.  
> He straightened his jacket as he rose to his full height and his eyes fell upon his date for the evening.   
> “Dammit Allura,” he said, looking straight into the grey eyes of Keith Kogane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next prompt i chose to do was 'celebrity'! i really would have loved to expand this into a longer thing as there are so many things about this universe that i absolutely love, but i did not have time for that..... perhaps some day....
> 
> things to know: they're both actors going to some nomination ceremony at a grand hotel. they needed a date and their mutual friend allura knew just how to solve this problem hehe ;)

When Allura Altea had told Lance McClain, eyes glinting and maroon red lips pulled up in a confident smile, that she’d take care of his problem, he didn’t worry about it as much as he probably should have. 

It was only when they were both seated in Allura’s jet black limousine, the woman applying an extra layer of lip gloss on their way to the red carpet, that he truly started to worry.

“Allura,  _ please _ ,” he said, leaning forward in his seat. “I deserve to know who my date for the night will be! We’re going to end up on the cover of magazines together, you know.” 

Allura smacked her lips together and closed her hand-held mirror with a loud  _ click _ . “You’re awfully confident, thinking you’re good enough for a cover,” she said, packing her gloss and mirror in her golden purse.

Lance scoffed and folded his arms over his chest as he leaned back in his seat. “Please,” he said. “This suit was designed and tailored just for me. I  _ know _ I’m good enough for a cover.”

His friend just shrugged her slim shoulders. “Maybe so.” 

Romelle, Allura’s own date and up-and-coming name in the industry, giggled at her girlfriend’s attitude. 

Lance sighed and uncrossed his arms. “At least give me a  _ hint _ .”

The famous actress hummed and tapped her manicured nail to her chin. “He was on the cover of  _ Vogue _ ,” she said. “So don’t get cocky.” 

“A-ha!” Lance was too triumphant in having acquired a hint about his mystery date’s identity, that he let the quip go. “So it’s a ‘he’.” 

Allura hummed again. “Yes, and he’s got eyes to die for.”

“‘Lura,” Romelle sighed.

“Have I met him before?” Lance shifted forward in his seat, trying to coerce the words from his friend’s lips.

Allura smirked. “Yes, you have.”

Lance gasped. “Did I like him?”

“ _ Allura _ ,” Romelle warned again.

This time her girlfriend looked over and smiled at her for a second. “Well, I’m not about to spoil the surprise,” she said, looking back at Lance. “You’ll see for yourself.”

Lance huffed and leaned back in his chair, sensing the ending of this conversation. Nerves settled low in his gut, he’d asked Allura to get him a date for this red carpet outing but he had not taken his own curiosity into consideration. 

It had been agreed upon by both parties that Lance would arrive with Allura and Romelle, and that his date would arrive in his own car at the same time. This way, they could walk down the carpet, into the grand hotel where the announcement of nominations would take place, together. Only, Lance had no idea who this person would be.

After ten more minutes of sulking while the girls speculated about who would be nominated in the different categories, the limo arrived at their destination. 

“You stay here,” Allura told him, gathering the skirts of her pink dress as she prepared to step out of the car. “Wait here, he’ll come get you in a few moments.” 

Lance, shocked at being told to stay behind like a child, could only watch as the flashes of cameras went off the moment Allura and Romelle emerged from the car. 

He huffed but waited. 

Only two minutes later a gentle knock sounded and the car door was opened from the outside.

“Finally,” Lance muttered as he got up to leave the limousine.

He straightened his jacket as he rose to his full height and his eyes fell upon his date for the evening. 

“ _ Dammit Allura _ ,” he said, looking straight into the grey eyes of Keith Kogane.

Keith Kogane’s hair fell over his shoulder in a long dark braid that Lance was sure contained at least a few extensions. His shoulders fit snugly in a bright red suit, the pale skin of his chest shining through a red mesh shirt and an equally red belt cinched around his waist, accentuating the difference in width between his shoulders and waist. Small rhinestones were applied around his eyes, his lashes accentuated with a layer of mascara and his lips glistened with the hint of gloss. 

Lance’s breath caught in his throat. 

“Hi,” said Keith Kogane. “My name is Keith.” As if his name hadn’t been plastered on all the billboards these last few months. “And you must be Lance McClain.”

His smile was charming, if a little subdued—Lance would have described it as shy, or maybe even  _ flustered _ , had it been anyone other than  _ Keith Kogane _ . 

Lance was awfully aware of the hundreds of cameras capturing their first meeting. He swallowed, time to dig deep into everything his old teachers and fellow actors had taught him, and plaster on a smile as if nothing happened. 

“The one and only,” he said with a wink. He offered his arm for Keith to take. “Shall we, darling?” 

Keith rolled his eyes and the use of the terrible nickname, but linked his arm with Lance and straightened his back. “Never would have thought I’d be walking down the red carpet with Lance McClain,” he said, as the two began their treck from the limousine to the front of the building, where they’d have to pose for more pictures before being allowed to go inside. 

Halfway down the aisle, Keith shifted his arm to drape over Lance’s waist. Lance thought he was doing a terrific job hiding the way his heart sped up. 

They arrived at the front of the building and Lance lifted his arm to curl it around Keith’s shoulders, pulling the shorter man into his side. The flashes increased tenfold and Lance smirked.

“Live up to hype so far?” he muttered, looking down at his ‘date.’ 

Keith’s grey eyes rose to meet his. “You’re doing pretty well,” Keith said, smirking. “For a rookie, anyway.”

The rookie in question gasped. “Excuse you, I’ve co-starred  _ Allura Altea _ in the first movie I ever did.” 

Keith never took his eyes off the cameras as he said, “Just ‘cause you have a pretty face doesn’t mean you can act, starboy.” 

Lance smirked. This guy might have been acting like he wasn’t all that impressed by the McClain name, but was clearly impressed enough to remember the nickname Allura’s character had affectionately called him in that first movie. 

“You’re one to talk,” muttered Lance, facing the cameras again, “pretty boy.”

He could  _ feel _ the other’s eye roll. “Shut up,” hissed Kogane.

Lance's smile broadened. “Make me,” he said.

Keith looked up at him and a promise of mischief brewed in his eyes. Before Lance could find out exactly what Kogane had planned to make him  _ shut up _ , one of the organizers called them over. 

Indeed a new couple of celebrities was making its way down the carpet and the two of them were ushered to the Interview Zone. 

“We really should have prepared a story,” Lance muttered in Keith’s ear.

Kogane shrugged. “Just keep it vague. Tell them the relationship is new, we weren’t ready to tell anyone yet. We’ll break up next week on social media and everyone will forget about it.” 

He talked like he’d done this before. Lance frowned. He wasn’t good at this sort of thing—being so clinical about things involving emotions—but saw no other way to do this.

“Kogane! Keith Kogane.” A short woman with long dark hair waved her recorder in the air as she called Keith’s name. She rattled a bunch of questions his way and Keith answered in that same monotone voice his fans all knew and loved so much. 

Her attention shifted to Lance and he answered her questions politely and charmingly. 

They got through two more reporters until the Question came up. 

“Are you two an item? How did you meet?”

“We met through our mutual friend, Allura Altea,” Keith said, keeping a straight face as he prepared to talk himself into a relationship that never actually happened. “One thing led to another and here we are.”

The reporter nodded as if this was the most insightful thing he had ever heard. “Can you tell us a bit more about you two? I’m sure the fans would love to hear how their two favorite actors became an item.”

The recorder was shoved into Lance’s face.

“Uhh,” Lance said, mind blanking. They  _ really _ should have agreed on a story first. 

“Allura invited us both to her house for a small get-together with a few friends. We were both in need of a date to bring here tonight and…” Keith looked up at Lance, the look in his eyes so soft and affectionate that Lance had to actively remind himself that he was standing next to the number one actor of possibly the century. “I never imagined I could have so much fun walking down a red carpet.”

“McClain?”

“Yeah,” Lance said a bit absently. “We haven’t known each other for that long but it feels like…” he let himself trail off, sensing his entering dangerous territory. “Well, I’m sure many people would kill to be where I am right now.” He tugged Keith a bit closer for extra emphasis. “We’ll just see where it goes,” he concluded, smiling at the reporter. 

The man smiled at them and thanked them. 

As they made their way away from the reporters towards the other celebrities already inside the big hall, Lance muttered, “Nice acting.”

Keith looked up at him, puzzled. “I wasn’t.”

“Oh,” said Lance. “Well,” he coughed, “me neither.”

“Great,” said Keith.

“Great,” said Lance.

He made a mental note to never question Allura’s opinion in anything ever again, because something about this, the two of them, felt  _ right _ .

The next day the headlines in all the big magazines were talking about the same thing. Hollywood’s new IT couple; Keith Kogane and Lance McClain, the industry’s long time favorite and newfound talent. 

Keith’s emotionless face stared up at Lance from the glossy cover of  _ People _ . The red of his outfit matching disgustingly well with the red birds on Lance’s own blue suit.

Lance took a sip of his coffee, pushing his reading glasses higher up his nose when his phone pinged. Huh. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks so much for reading!!
> 
> [follow me on twitter ;)](https://twitter.com/lvecean)


	3. day six: pirate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith was a skilled swordsman—rivalled only by his mom and teacher, Krolia—but he had a habit of emerging into a dual so much as to forget about other all threats. This is where Lance came in.   
> His sharp eyes and steady hand had saved Keith time and again. He needed him and he was well aware of this. Yet, this time, he’d keep the pretense of not needing him up for as long as he could, knowing that in the end the need to stay alive would outlive even his stubbornness.  
> “Captain Kogane!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wahh helloo
> 
> i loved writing this so much jfladkjf it's my longest work for this au month yet. even though the ending is so cheesy..... even for me lol
> 
> (i shall edit this tomorrow so pls ignore any mistakes or typos you may find sowwryy)
> 
> also want to add a quick note to say that y'all should check out [my lovely friend alex's work](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29243448), she's also doing this au month and her work is soso good!!
> 
> i pictured keith to look like [this lovely art](https://twitter.com/KeithyyBoi/status/1358092719894233088?s=20) by [inès](https://twitter.com/KeithyyBoi)

This particular day the skies were clear, the wind just strong enough to billow the sails and carry the ship into the right direction. The sea was not so angry that she’d pose a threat to the experienced crew of the Red Lion, but restless enough to have the excitement for upcoming battle thrumming in the pirates’ hearts.

“Enemies approaching!” Pidge called from the crow’s nest. 

Keith’s head shot up. He frowned up at her waving arms before clenching his jaw and storming up on the quarter deck, surpassing Lance behind the big wheel. The other pirate swallowed at the murderous glare Keith graced him with. 

“They’re here,” Keith growled, sparing Lance one glance before redirecting his attention to his crew down on the main deck. “The enemy ship is approaching from the north-east,” he called. “Prepare to embark!” 

He shot another glare at Lance before flying down the stairs to help his crew prepare on the main deck, making it a point to whip his long coat with a flourish. He knew that it wouldn’t be long before Lance would join him down here, favoring the thrill of embarking another ship over showing the steermanship needed to get the two vessels close enough to perform the embarking, and with that came the necessity to at least cooperate with the other pirate.

Keith was a skilled swordsman—rivalled only by his mom and teacher, Krolia—but he had a habit of emerging into a dual so much as to forget about other all threats. This is where Lance came in. 

His sharp eyes and steady hand had saved Keith time and again. He needed him and he was well aware of this. Yet, this time, he’d keep the pretense of not needing him up for as long as he could, knowing that in the end the need to stay alive would outlive even his stubbornness.

“Captain Kogane!” 

Keith growled and turned around, not in the mood for any whining crewmembers. The guy, Lars, he thought his name was, swallowed when faced with his captain’s stare. 

“Captain McClain wants to speak with you.”

Keith turned back to the sea, keeping his eyes locked on the approaching enemy vessel. “I’m not interested. Tell him he ought to be geared up in three minutes.” He squinted. “Make that two.” 

Lars scurried off.

In the precious few minutes he had before he’d have to manage a battle with the Sincline on top of keeping himself from strangling his co-captain, he busied himself by making sure his crew were ready and prepared for the battle. With a little luck it wouldn’t take them long to overpower the Sincline crew. They’d battled and won before and they’d do it again. He just wished he didn’t have to waste their resources on something so preventable. 

He got shaken out of his thoughts by the war cries of his crew. The men and women rose their weapons into the air as the Sincline approached. 

Keith grit his teeth. “Get ready,” he called. 

The ships drifted ever closer and the wooden planks were grabbed and thrown up to connect the two ships. Matt steered the Red Lion to lay out of the wind’s reach and the first crewmembers made their way onto the Sincline. 

Keith could see captain Lotor’s billowing white hair and insufferable smirk and growled, setting off to cross the bridge alongside his crew. A voice stopped him. 

“A little birdy told me you didn’t want to talk to me,” said Lance. 

Keith shot him a look out of the corner of his eye. “That little birdy was right,” he grunted as he jumped up on the bridge onto the Sincline. “Captain Lotor!” he called over the mess of battling pirates. 

“Seriously?” Lance ran after him. “You’re going to ignore me? That’s no way to enter battle. What if this is the day I die?” 

“Then you shall be remembered by your poor card game skills.” Keith made his way through the mess of pirates to wear he knew Lotor would be waiting for him—or them—to find him. 

Before the two captains could get to their real opponent, they had to go through the four highly-skilled women he keeps as a sort of bodyguard group. 

Despite his temporary despise of his co-captain, he shot Lance a look—to check if he was there, if he had his back. 

“I’m not letting you go in alone,” Lance said oddly soft, considering the battle raging around them. 

Keith huffed. Fixed his eyes back of the first of the women and said, without looking at his partner, “Didn’t expect you to.” 

With that, he raised his sword and ran towards his first opponent. 

The woman, Ezor he believed her name was, gave up a good fight, meeting Keith when he struck, and whipping lightning quick to make her own attempts at injuring him. He was aware of Lance, battling Zethrid beside him, but only heard the man make quips. 

“You’re good,” Ezor panted, blocking another of his attacks with her dagger. 

“Thanks,” said Keith, and finally he saw an opening and pushed her aside harsh enough to barrel into a group of his own crew, who grabbed her arms and kept her from running back to demand a rematch. 

He wiped the corner of mouths and turned around to see Lance get the upper hand in his sword fight with Zethrid. 

Once she was taken care of, the other captain turned to Keith. “Can’t we skip this and get right to the fun part?” he asked, frowning as the other two of Lotor’s women approached them. 

“You got yourself to blame,” Keith said before brushing his hair out of his face and taking a deep breath. 

Axca and Keith had always been well-matched. Their fighting style was similar, having been born and raised in the same sea-side town, they’d had a lot of the same teachers and had even practiced together as kids. 

Their blades met mid-air and neither held back as they struck again and again. After a few minutes Keith managed to get the upper hand by using some techniques Shiro had taught him. A quick jab with the butt of his knife in her side, quickly followed by a swipe of his legs had her tumbling to the ground with a surprised yelp. 

Two crew members immediately rushed over to pick her off the ground and she grinned at him as the two pirates grabbed her by the armpits. “You’ve improved,” was all she said before being dragged off. 

Keith shrugged his jacket back on his shoulders and turned to watch Lance battle Lotor’s blind companion. Narti was putting up a good fight, but Lance had been training under Keith’s guidance and Keith had shaped his sword fighting into something structured and balanced which in the end, proved to be enough to beat Narti in a fight. 

“Good luck getting your ring back,” he grinned before she disappeared into the battling crowd. 

“Thanks!” Lance called after her cheerfully. Then he turned back to Keith. “What do you, pretty boy?” 

Keith rolled his eyes, but on the inside it was getting harder and harder to keep himself from smiling. What could he say? He thrived off the adrenaline of fighting. 

“Let’s just get this over with,” was all he said, but Lance’s grin told him the man had heard everything he needed to know.

Lotor stood, hands folded behind his back, gazing out over the ocean. He turned slowly when the two captains approached him. 

“Good to see you Captain Kogane, McClain.” He nodded his head at them, white hair billowing in the salty wind. 

Keith squinted his eyes. He didn’t trust people who could keep up meticulous beauty standards even when exposed to all the salt and wind. (Lance always claimed that Keith was just jealous of the state of Lotor’s hair. As if Keith’s braided hair wasn’t just as flowy and soft?)

“Yeah, likewise.” It was clear from Keith that this was not the face. 

“We’re here for the ring, Lotor,” Lance said

“Oh, are you?” Lotor brought his hand closer to his face, examining the red stone placed on a thin golden band. It fit him disgustingly well. 

Keith could feel Lance shift uncomfortably besides him. “Yeah,” he said. “So give it back. It’s mine.” 

Lotor tilted his head, his hair fell over his shoulder in a curtain of unnatural white. He clicked his tongue. “Hmm,” he pretended to actually consider these words. “I won it fair and square,” he said, looking at Lance with an amused smirk. “I think I’d rather keep.” 

Lance’s fist tightened around the hilt of his sword and he took a step closer. “You cheated and you know it. Give it back, Lotor.” 

“It must be of a lot of value to have two of the most vicious captains chase me down to get it,” Lotor said, lifting his calculated gaze onto Keith. 

Keith felt his eyes trail up and down his body, taking in the red leather and the long red blade and the white fist gripping the hilt of his dagger tightly… and the matching ring on Keith’s own finger. 

“Oh,” said Lotor, throwing his head back and laughing loudly. “Oh, I see.”

Keith growled. “You’re outnumbered. We’ve got your crew. Just give it back.” 

“Congratulations,” Lotor looked at them and lifted his hand with the ring for the both of them to see, “though I guess the wedding’s postponed, seeing as I’ve got his  _ ring _ .”

“Give. Us. The. Ring.” Lance’s voice was doing that thing where it got all low and serious and Keith  _ knew _ his fiance was about to make the first move that would set off the fight between the three of them. 

Keith’s senses sharpened, completely focused on the movements of his partner next to him and their opponent across from them. 

Lotor hummed as he considered the ring again. “I guess I  _ have _ been a bit bored since that card game of ours,” he grabbed the hilt of his purple sword and pulled it from the scabbard around his hip, pointing it at the two captains. “So I’ll bite.”

The first on to strike, as Keith had predicted, was Lance. He’d let his partner lead this battle, as it was simultaneously a way to win his ring as well as his honor as a pirate captain back. 

“Are you gonna let him do all the work?” Lotor taunted him as he blocked one of Lance’s attacks. “Did domestic life make you slow?” 

Keith rolled his eyes. “In your dreams,” he said. “I’m letting him get some frustration out of the way before I butt in.” 

“How considerate.” Lotor was panting a little with the exertion of blocking Lance’s strikes. “Though I have to say,” he addressed Lance now, “you’ve gotten better at this. Shame I can’t say the same for you card game skills.” 

Lance swung his broadsword and this time Lotor wasn’t swift enough to block or evade the attack entirely, and Lance’s sword cut into his forearm just deep enough to draw a little blood. “My card game skills are unrivaled,” he hissed, “the only people I can’t win from are  _ cheaters _ .”

Lotor wiped the blood off with his other sleeve and shrugged. “I don’t care for the ring, you know. You can have it back if you beat me.” 

“Won’t be too hard, seeing as it’s two against one,” Lance said, shooting a look at Keith. 

“Oh, no,” Lotor shook his head. “I’ll only fight you, McClain. You were the one to lose the ring, so you’re gonna be the one to win it back.” 

Keith took a step closer. “If you pull even one dirty move you’re losing your hand.” 

Lotor wasn’t impressed with the captain’s threat. “Upon my word, I’ll play fairly,” he bowed mockingly to Keith, then turned to face Lance again. “What do you say?” 

Lance rolled his eyes. “Of course I’ll fight.” 

“Well, then that’s settled.” Lotor grinned and raised his sword again. “May the best pirate win.”

With that, he swung the weapon forward, just barely missing Lance’s left ear. 

Keith clenched his hand around his dagger and had to actively fight himself to keep from jumping forward and showing Lotor just how annoyed he was. 

His fiance just grinned and made a counterattack which had Lotor jumping back a meter to avoid a cut across the chest. 

The two went back and forth, both equally matched in speed and strength. However stamina seemed to be in Lance’s advantage as Lotor quickly began panting. His movements became slower and his attacks less precise. 

Keith was proud to see his co-captain use all the different techniques and tricks he’d taught him and with the help of these tricks it didn’t take long for Lance to have Lotor spread out of the wood of his ship, sword at his side.

“Alright,” the pirate said, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. “You win, you’ll get your ring back.” 

He slid the ring off his hand and dropped in Lance’s open palm, who immediately put it on his own finger again. He turned his back to Lotor and shared a look with Keith.

Keith knew what he was asking—what now? Technically they’d just beaten the captain of the Sincline, making this their ship. But… really what were they to do with an extra ship laying around? 

“Let’s go, Keith,” said Lance, grabbing his fiance’s hand as they walked back to their own ship. 

“You’re not going to strip me of my honor?” Lotor said behind them. “You could lock me up in your hull and wait for me to start rotting.” 

The two captains of the Red Lion turned around to see Lotor standing on his two feet again. 

“And what good would that do us?” Lance inquired. “We got what we came for. We’re done here.”

Keith grinned at Lance and lifted their hands to press a kiss to the back of Lance’s. 

They made their way across the Sincline, past groups of their crew holding swords to the throats of Lotor’s crew. Keith motioned for them to release the other pirates, and one by one the Red Lion crew made their way back onto their own ship.

Once everyone was aboard, the wooden plank got retracted and Matt steered them back into a position for the wind to catch in the sails. Keith and Lance stood on the quarter deck, watching the Sincline slowly drift away from them.

A figure dressed in purple and with white hair billowing in the wind appeared at the railing of the Sincline. 

“So can I tell others the happy news?” Lotor called across the increasing distance between their ships. 

“Do whatever you want,” said Lance, gripping Keith’s hand tightly. 

“Congrats, again,” Lotor said, smiling genuinely. 

Keith smiled back, knowing that despite the differences the captains had, they’d somehow grown into a weird sort of friendship over the years. “Thanks.” 

The Syncline drifted out of earshot and Keith turned to his fiance.

“I still can’t believe you lost the ring I gave you when I confessed my undying love to you, in a  _ card game _ .” 

“ _ In my defense _ ,” said Lance. “I didn’t know I was going to lose.” 

Keith smiled and shook his head, leaning up to kiss his boyfriend’s mouth softly. He intertwined their hands and watched the red stones on their matching rings shimmer in the late afternoon light. “You didn’t,” he said, looking up at the love of his life and the one person he’d follow to the end of the Earth. 

His partner.

His co-captain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading lmk what you thought hehe <3
> 
> [follow me on twitter ;)](https://twitter.com/lvecean)

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading and stick around for more cute prompts!! <3
> 
> [follow me on twitter ;)](https://twitter.com/lvecean)


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